What was pizza when it was invented? it was the fast food of the Italian proletariat. Most of the "true Italian pizza" you can find nowadays is going to be from an expensive bourgeois restaurant, or rarely from an actual Italian family place if you're lucky to live near one. "Authentic pizza" is mostly not consumed by members of the working class, so how it could it actually be a real example of that culture?

  • Woly [any]
    ·
    4 years ago

    “Authentic pizza” is mostly not consumed by members of the working class, so how it could it actually be a real example of that culture?

    The working class isn't a culture, it's a class. There are many different cultures that are present within the working class, including Italian-Americans. Find areas of the United States with large Italian populations, and you'll find those cheap 'authentic' pizza places, where working class people still eat. If you're asking why ethnic or traditionally working class foods are co-opted by the bourgeois establishment, the answer is just profit.

  • Hoyt [he/him]
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    edit-2
    4 years ago

    Taco Bell is more authentic than most "true mexican tacos" you can find

    What were tacos when they were invented? it was the fast food of the Mexican proletariat. Most of the “true mexican taquerias” you can find nowadays is going to be from an expensive bourgeois restaurant, or rarely from an actual Mexican family place if you’re lucky to live near one. “Authentic tacos” are mostly not consumed by members of the working class, so how it could it actually be a real example of that culture?

    • Terkrockerfeller [she/her]
      ·
      4 years ago

      Nah this one doesn't really work cause, at least where I live (LA), there's a large Mexican population and there are street stands/tents set up all over the place offering tacos and other food for really cheap.

        • Terkrockerfeller [she/her]
          ·
          4 years ago

          Yeah but in a way that mocks the premise of the original post, which I think it failed to do

          • nohaybanda [he/him]
            ·
            4 years ago

            That's definitely how I read it. And I agree, but I'm at a family do right now and can't be arsed to get into why.

      • Hoyt [he/him]
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        edit-2
        4 years ago

        So the authenticity of Taco Bell is inversely proportional to how many Mexican chefs are in a given population? Taco Bell isn't authentic in southern California, but is more authentic in a white midwestern town?

        • Terkrockerfeller [she/her]
          ·
          4 years ago

          I mean if it's the only Mexican food in town, then yeah it's kinda the most authentic by elimination

          • Hoyt [he/him]
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            edit-2
            4 years ago

            Let's say I lived in a town with no Serbian population. I start a restaurant advertising it serving Authentic Serbian Cuisine. By the argument you've lined out here, what I served in this restaurant is irrelevant, since it's the only restaurant claiming to be serving Serbian food.

            Let me make my point here instead of continuing the snark: You cannot keep appealing to a notion of authenticity while also rejecting any kind of cultural ties that the word implies. I would argue that authenticity in food comes from things like ingredients, taste, preparation, and even the way it's served and eaten. The argument that you're supporting, that food authenticity arrives not from the food itself, but from price point and class of people consuming it, is a bit silly.

            The word "authentic" implies some kind of tie to tradition. I couldn't give a fuck about tradition, but to try to divorce the word "authentic" from any kind of traditional framing is Quixotic.

    • kristina [she/her]
      ·
      4 years ago

      nah. pizza of the proletariat are those small hole in the wall food joints that have all you can eat pizza and arent corporate

  • Candidate [he/him]
    ·
    4 years ago

    Pizza franchises are universally garbage, cheap Pizzerias are the bomb.

    What the fuck is "authentic" pizza anyway? Authentic Napolitan? Authentic New York? Authentic Detroit?

  • 777 [none/use name]
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    edit-2
    4 years ago

    im gonna keep it Real with you chief no one cares if u only eat at papa johns it's not revolutionary or some sort of proletariat resistance uprising to eat shitty fast food it's just what you have available or affordable at the time. it's ok. you don't have to psyop yourself into thinking dominos is good or a signifier of the working class. no one with a brain gives a shit about authentic pizza when they go to a non-franchise pizza spot it's because the food is better and probably at the same price point as the franchise place if not cheaper. it's a marketing term. it's all marketing.

    the "authentic italian specialties" hole-in-the wall place near me is actually run by some greeks. i don't care. the pizza's good and i can get it by the slice, which is the main thing

    • MarxGuns [comrade/them]
      ·
      4 years ago

      And my favorite sushi places were ran by Taiwanese folks. My favorite Thai, some white dude with Southeast Asian family (I think). Favorite hibachi? Some Mexican guy. It used to bother me but those were stupid thoughts.

    • abdul [none/use name]
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      edit-2
      4 years ago

      how would you incorporate a stuffed crust into this? how much cheese would one need and is the crust rolling step any different beyond "add cheese to edge prior to rolling"

      edit: also, is there anything special to understand about stretching the dough in order to keep it evenly distributed and not lumpy?

  • abc [he/him, comrade/them]
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    edit-2
    4 years ago

    the most authentic pizza is the pizza marinara since it is pizza in its simplest form, yet no one understands this as they yell at me for ordering a slice of pepperoni, eating the pepperonis, and then scraping the cheese off before consuming the rest.

  • Dyno [he/him]
    ·
    4 years ago

    'authentic' food is just culinary nationalism. my favourite pizza place is turkish cause i can get doner meat pizza and it slaps

    • MarxGuns [comrade/them]
      ·
      4 years ago

      Yummy, doner. I wonder if doner would work with a tofu block on the vertical rotisserie.

  • Grownbravy [they/them]
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    4 years ago

    If your pizza aint come from some place with wall tiles that have been out of style for decades, I aint interested.

    • 4bicycles [he/him]
      ·
      4 years ago

      Dr. Oetker Pizzas fucking suck, except the Pizza Pasta and the Pizzaburger because they get a pass on sheer audacity